What you need to know
- Thomas Webster surrendered Monday at the FBI office in Hudson Valley on charges filed in federal court in Washington, DC related to the deadly U.S. Capitol Revolt on Jan. 6.
- Webster, who spent 54 years living in New York raising his three children with his wife apart from the time he served the Marines, was honorably discharged and had no prior arrests, his defense attorney
- The latest development comes after countless arrests and charges against several residents of three states in connection with the violent events that unfolded earlier last month.
A retired NYPD officer who had been assigned for a time to work on perimeter security at City Hall and Gracie Mansion, the mayor’s official residence, has been accused of using a pipe to attack a Capitol officer of the United States during the January 6 siege. Officials with knowledge of the case told News 4 Tuesday.
Thomas Webster surrendered Monday at the FBI office in the Hudson Valley to face charges in the ongoing investigation. A day later, in federal court in White Plains, prosecutors said the former U.S. sailor attacked a Capitol police officer with an aluminum stick while holding a Marine Corps flag. Webster then allegedly ripped off a mask and caused the officer to drown, prosecutors said.
They described a look of rage at Webster, captured in a video, that reflected a man about to unleash violence. And they accused him of doing just that.
“These videos stir the conscience,” the prosecutor said, alleging that Webster “goes after that cop like a junk dog: his teeth clenched and his fists clenched.”
Webster was wearing a bulletproof vest at the time, which meant he was prepared for physical conflict, prosecutors added. The 20-year NYPD veteran carried a gun to Washington, DC, on the day of the siege, according to prosecutors. Webster claimed he left her at the hotel, but was wearing bulky clothes in the video shared by the FBI. Regardless, it is against the law to only carry a weapon in Washington, DC
“We believe he had a gun in the Capitol and thank God he didn’t shoot then,” prosecutors said.
Defense attorney James Monroe said Webster went to the U.S. Capitol to take part in a protest that January day, but was not part of any group or organization. Monroe said his client was run over by the Capitol officer before retaliating; he never fired a shot in his decades-long career at the NYPD.
Monroe said Webster, who was honorably fired from U.S. Marines and spent the rest of his more than 50 years raising his three children with his wife in New York, went to DC that January day. to protest at an event at the urging of the first president of the United States. He has no prior arrests.
The FBI had released an image, later identified by police officials as Webster, as part of its ongoing investigation into the violence last month. When Webster learned that his image had spread on social media, he went to Monroe, who told him that the best course was to surrender in good faith demonstration.
Webster handed over the weapons he owns voluntarily, along with his gun permit and passport, Monroe said. Webster does not deny that he was the man in the red jacket who was seen in images and videos released by the FBI, Monroe said. But he said his client has no history of political activism and deserves a “fair bail.”
Webster “poses no danger to the community. He has done a fantastic job as husband and father,” Monroe said. The lawyer offered to accept the control and travel restrictions as part of an agreement to keep Webster out of jail pending trial. Monroe demanded that Webster be released on bail without bail. He said his client plans to plead not guilty. A judge agreed that Webster was not a flight risk, but ordered the arrest without bail for the potential threat it could pose to the community.
FBI agents searched two New York City residents Thursday for the Capitol riot case.
Webster’s arrest is the latest in a series of allegations against a growing number of residents in three states in connection with the events that unfolded earlier last month when a crowd of supporters of former President Donald Trump went assault the United States Capitol.
Nearly two months after the siege, the FBI continues to make arrests across the country. Since the violent riot, several residents of three states have been arrested and charged with several felony-related crimes, including a New York City sanitation worker, the brother of a retired NYPD officer, a New York City health worker. MTA and an Upper West Community Leader.
U.S. Capitol Police Captain Carneysha Mendoza gave a first-hand account of the deadly insurgency on Jan. 6 as she testified Tuesday before two Senate committees. “In the multitude of events I’ve worked on in my nearly 19-year career in the department, this was by far the worst of the worst,” Mendoza said.